#god I have to redraw moonlight

[teddy-fluffnhugs]

Princess Frizzle, mother of all Petpets and bearer of macaroni necklaces from all her babies.

I designed this character in hopes of it making it an official part of the game PetPetPark, but the team long since canceled the idea. So :> She just gonna be one of my OCs for possible PetPetPark storyline I'm working on. So stay tuned!

Sketch process of her before:

[kdtheghostwriter]

OPM 102/103

So that’s where Seto Kaiba ended up.

Sweet Mask

The last time we saw Amai Mask (he wears an ‘A’ on his belt loop, I’m calling him Amai) in a featured role, he was admonishing the S-Class heroes for their gross lack of preparation in countering the forces of Lord Boros. Amai himself is Class A, Rank 1; he could easily advance into the S-Class ranks but refuses, admitting that he is a gatekeeper.

The above panel is from the second version of Punch 102. Murata has been known to redraw complete chapters before for such issues as repetitive action or blocking. There were various changes made here as well as extending the length. Although, this was more for the benefit of three minor characters.

The three disciples of master swordsman and S-Class hero, Atomic Samurai: Bushidrill, Okamaitachi, and Iaian. The latter is fighting one-handed after losing his arm defending City A from Boros’ forces. The offensive by him and his comrades is ultimately a non-factor, but Iaian proves himself to be a solid leader despite his handicap. It’s such that Amai actually lets a tinge of respect sneak into his tone when he tells the rooks to piss off.

Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask vs Do-S is another match-up that was first seen in the webcomic. Do-S has a special weapon that uses pain to entrap its victims to do her bidding. This weapon is a whip covered in thorns. Yep. I’ll take this time to say before we continue that Murata isn’t always known as the subtlest of the mangaka. If there is one critique I could levy, even now, his fanservice is a wee bit out of control.

 Viewer Prohibited Battle

The alternate translation of 103’s title is Secret Battle. I prefer the former because this battle would probably be hidden on the blue site I’m posting this to. There’s nothing explicit. It’s just very suggestive and pretty graphic.

Setting the scene: the end of the last chapter saw Amai shooing the A-Class heroes away. They were flummoxed by the attack armor the hostages were wearing, as they wanted to subdue them without harming them. Amai told them he had a solution that was simple enough. Well…he wasn’t wrong.

The most common theory making the rounds even before this chapter dropped was that Amai Mask would tear through the brainwashed mercenaries and then destroy the monster. That is exactly what happened, in addition to that added Murata flair. Makes sense now why he ordered the young heroes to leave. Killing hostages isn’t exactly becoming of a hero. Objectively, he is a hero, just not very heroic. I suppose you could expect that from an idol star who moonlights as a super hero. (Or is it vice versa?)

Big yikes, mate.

Readers of the webcomic, per usual, have the scoop on Amai and the hints at his true nature. It’s been hinted or outright stated that he’s far stronger than his ranking suggests. There are even some panels where his handsome veneer evaporates, and we see a flash of some sort of…Eldritch Horror?

So much uncertain about his character; it is made clear that he genuinely cares about his fans and protecting the innocent. He’s a bit of a dick while doing so but is hardly the first out of this lineup guilty of that. The heroes are still in need of an attitude adjustment. They will be sure to get one when [REDACTED] swings through.

 Stray Thoughts

- Murata is added to the list of artists that design armor to emphasize there is a WOMAN inside of it. It’s nothing to get worked up over. I just hope that the trend is sort of brushed to the side with this next generation of creators. Still love his work, tho.

- Do-S, her design, and the way she dies is all pretty dissonant with the overall story. If any of it rubbed you the wrong way I couldn’t even argue.

- It’s chapters like this which remind me that OPM isn’t a pure Shonen story, really. Saitama is a Shonen hero living in a Seinen world.

- Punch 103 ends with a sight gag featuring the three junior samurai and Pig God. If this were the first panel you ever saw of OPM, you’d either binge the series in a weekend or never read it again.

- I think I may have guessed Darkshine was the next hero up and then we got Child Emperor. At the risk of being proven wrong, I’ll guess Darkshine again.